E-Mealz Review and Giveaway!

 

Lately, I have been having a hard time figuring what to cook for supper. All of my recipes call for tons of ingredients and I am tired of listening to hubs complain about the ever growing food budget. Since I listen to Dave Ramsey a lot, I was aware of E-Mealz but wasn't sure about actually joining- what if I didn't like the recipes? 

Well, it turns out the recipes are delicious and it has it's own shopping list.. organized based of grocery store sections. It is working out really well- we are able to eat the left overs the next day for lunch too- so it's like two meals in one! 

I really love how organized the list is- say you don't want meal 6? Well, there is a column that says which ingredient is in what meal and you can just mark out every thing needed for meal 6. Super easy! 

Plus, it gives you an estimated total of your grocery bill! 

They have low carb, Weight Watchers options, gluten free, vegetarian, low fat, couples only options.

And also store specific- Walmart, Kroger, Publix, Aldi, Ralph's, or the any-store option. 

The recipes are delicious and for the most part- the girls will eat them. It has really changed our eating habits- dinner at the table every night. And we make Addison try it before she says she doesn't like it. 

Don't forget to check out their twitter, blog, and Facebook pages for more ideas, and money saving tips!

Think you're ready to try it? 

If you sign up, you can receive 15% off through April 30th! 

AND...

I am giving away a 3 month subscription to E-Mealz to one lucky reader! 

How to enter?

Just follow my blog and leave a comment

Want some extra entries? 

Follow me on twitter( 1 extra entry)

Tweet about the giveaway (1 extra entry)

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Please leave a separate comment for each entry

The giveaway ends next Thursday, April 7th at midnight. 

PSA- Parents of Toddlers

I realize that there are a ton more serious things that could happen to your child. There are thousands of parents stressed over ailments that their children are going through. My girls have always been relatively healthy- except for the occasional virus or cold. 

I have also debated about putting this out there, I have beat myself up about it and surely didn't want DHR knocking on my door, but I figure if it could help ONE Mama out there, then it's golden. 

Friday morning, I was trying to drink my coffee and wake up so I could actually talk and not just grunt and point around (NOT a morning person) and I hear some gagging in the living room. I turn around and Claire has her fingers in her mouth. I go over to inspect. Open her mouth and she has her teeth clenched. I ask her if she has something in her mouth. I turn to Addison. I ask her. When I finally get an answer out of her, she tells me that Claire had a necklace in her mouth. I turn to Claire, and her teeth are now unclenched and there is nothing in her mouth. I ask her if she swallowed the necklace- Addison tells me that she doesn't think she swallowed it, so I asked her where the necklace is. We look around and Addison says with a shrug, "Well, maybe she did swallow it." I start to freak a little. Claire is breathing. She is actually smiling at me. I don't know what to do. It's 7am. I call Rebecca. She doesn't answer. So I call my sister. She hands the phone to Andy. He says he is going to call a surgeon friend. Becca calls me back, calms me down, and then Andy beeps in- he tells me to take her to Urgent Care to get X-rayed and then if she needs a surgery consult to let him know. Uhh.. okay. I call the only Urgent Care that has an x-ray machine. They don't open until 8. So, I  fix Addy some breakfast and we get on the road to Urgent Care at 8. 

The looks I get about this situation at the Urgent Care make me feel like a crap parent. I didn't chop my child's arm off, she just swallowed a necklace that she plays with everyday! 

Maybe now is where I should describe the necklace. Addison got it for her birthday. It's a silver chain with a heart shaped pendant that has a crown sitting on top with pink rhinestones. Let's think about how THAT felt going down and how it's going to feel coming out.

She gets x-rayed- it's definitely in there. They think I need a surgery consult. This where I really start to panic. My child made need a surgical procedure to get this out?!!? The surgeon that the dr talked to says to just give a day or two and see if it passes. Urgent Care Dr tells me to come back on Saturday if she hasn't passed it by then. Claire poops Saturday but nothing. We tried to pump her full of foods that normally make her go--let's keep in mind that this is the child that NEVER has a problem going #2 and we normally are silently cursing because we have to change yet another dirty diaper. 

We ended up taking her back on Sunday afternoon to be x-rayed again. The necklace is lower and looks like it's going to be coming out soon. She wants us to call if she passes it, but if she doesn't then she wants us to come back on Tuesday. 

The relief I felt when she said she definitely thought she was going to pass it- I can't even describe it. 

Anyway, we get no poop Sunday evening, all day Monday or even Tuesday. I start to freak. Is it stuck? Is it hurting her so she is holding it in? I decided that if she didn't poop on Wednesday that I would definitely take her back and insist that they go in after it. 

Good news, Super Nana to the rescue this morning. She passed the necklace, with no pain, either. The necklace is now part of the outside world again. 

And that my friends, is why you should always remember that though your child may seem old enough to not swallow weird things, that they will. We have since caught Claire with another necklace in her mouth, a dress up earring, and Addison's Hello Kitty necklace. I mean, hello?? 

Hide yo diamonds, Hide yo jewelry if Claire is coming to yo house. 

Also, for those of you who said that you did want to join the challenge.. it seems most of you are No Reply blogger e-mails and I can't e-mail you back. Will you please e-mail me at rayray.mcphillips@gmail.com

Reunited and it feels so good..

Since I am 1.5 lbs off my original goal of 130, I have decided to push myself to lose 6 lbs to get down to 125. I want to concentrate on blasting the fat and building the muscle. I would be fine with the number on the scales today, if I felt like I looked toned. But I don't feel that way. So, I challenged Lindsey at Mrs and Mrs Smith to lose our last 6 lbs in a competition. Whoever gets to their goal first receives a prize from the "loser". We also decided to open up our competition to anyone who wants to do it. We will do it as an 8 week challenge and whoever loses the most at the end of 8 weeks will receive a prize from the two of us. You do not have to post your weight. If you are interested in joining the challenge, let us know. 

I have gotten so much encouragement over the internets from y'all and I would like to give something back to those going down the same weight loss journey. Y'all.. bikini season is right around the corner- let's rock it! 

In other news...

I have finally been reunited with a great run. I have decided to scrap distance and go for time and to feel good. I had intentions of doing some machines, but my run felt great and I did a little speed work- just testing to see what felt good. I did 2.2 miles and then chatted with the brother-in-law and went to go get the girls from Lindas and ran a few errands, came home and did some Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.. I was able to keep it in between Natalie and Anita-- but keep up more with Natalie, which I was way impressed with- I guess the endurance sports helps. :) 

Let's punch these last 6 lbs in the face. 

Update on the shoes.. and other things.

I have had 5 workouts with the new shoes. There are super comfy and my knees haven't been bothering me. Here is the downside. My socks don't like them. I wear the thorlo pads and these two aren't meshing. Also, my feet get hot. I can't stand when my feet get hot. Thirdly, I think they are a little heavy for running shoes. I have been thinking my legs felt like lead but now I am thinking it's the heaviness of the shoes. I can only assume that since the shoes a little heavier that they are the reason that my calves are sore. Not that I am complaining. My calves could use a work out.

I also discovered that I can't run Nashville. No babysitters. It's really not a big deal to me. My heart wasn't in that race anyway. But I wanted to look for a 10K to run. It seems like a good distance for me. I found two. One on the day of A-Day and the other is the day we leave for Vegas. So.. no can do. I'm a little ticked about it.

Since I am a person that needs goals, I have decided to really work on bringing my 5K time down. I really want to run a sub 30 min 5K. I am just not sure how to go about concentrating on speed work. How often should this be done? Can it be done on a treadmill?

I am thinking I need a running partner too. I really do enjoy running outside. I don't know many runners, so I either need to find some runner friends/runner group or make the friends I already have, run. Any takers? (yes, Jana- I, too, wish we lived closer together because we could be awesome running buddies.)

On a side note, I want to get toned. I am trying to figure out the best way to go about it. Start working with weights? Run more? Do The Shred? I had my body fat analyzed this morning. This is how is breaks down... 23.1 body fat and my muscle mass is 23.3- basically I am half muscle, half fat. 14-20% is the athletic area of body fat, and I am in the fitness area. I'm not trying to unload my body image issues on here, but basically, I hate my inner thighs, second butt, and my arms. So, anything to help me there would be greatly appreciated.

To answer the anonymous question that was posted in my comments- We are still unsure if we are done having kids or not. We are happy with the way the things are right now. If we do try again, I think we would both be happy either way it went. Boy or another girl- it wouldn't matter to me! :)

CSN Review

The super nice peeps over at CSN sent me a drying rack to review. Since this is how I normally dry all my Dry Fit clothes... I thought it was a good idea.



I must say, I really dig this rack. It is collapsable, and fits nicely tucked away in my laundry room. But mostly, it's home is here.

I chose one with a mesh top and it's perfect for socks, sports bras, or even a pair of tempos. 

It even has corner pieces that are perfect for my numerous sports bras. 

I can fit tons on here. What would normally be spread all over my dining room table, hanging where it would fit in the laundry room and on the hampers, fits all on this rack. I even set it outside yesterday and all the clothes dried in a couple of hours. 

I have been super impressed and it helps make doing laundry not such a pain. Here is the link to purchase your very own! Thanks so much CSN! 

This weekend deserved a Ta-Da!!

This weekend was a little on the crazy side. Friday started with a bridal luncheon for John's cousin that was getting married. And then of course, the McPhillips had a get together Friday night full of laughter, stories, pictures, pizza, and wine. (This is the reason I fit in so well.) I seriously love his family. All the cousins, aunts, uncles, babies-- they are just fabulous to be around. 

Saturday started with Addison's very first gymnastics jamboree/recital/thing. I would be lying if I said that I didn't tear up at times. She looked so big, yet so tiny and vulnerable. She thought it was going to be a normal class, I think, because when she saw all the chairs, she freaked a little. But, calmed down and did her thing. 

Our first Ta Da! of the day. 

I had Dad video it, so you can see the Olympic goodness in my 4 year old. She dominates every event except the beam. Which I can't blame her, that thing freaks me out too. Instead of posting a bazillion pictures, I'll just post the shortened video. Dad took to heart when I told him I only cared about her being on it. He literally videoed her sitting and watching the other girls perform. Well done, Boompa. Well done. I now have 40 minutes of precious Addison video, of which I am only going to post about 5 minutes on here.



The part she was most excited about was her medal. Seriously. The running medals are rubbing off on her because she couldn't wait to tell me about it.

One last Ta Da!! 

My Saturday then continued with a maternity session, some light yard work, and the gorgeous wedding. It was outside and I don't think they could have asked for a more beautiful day. Tracie and I were told we were the life of the dance floor and passed our "sorority girl"dance moves onto another generation. You know, where you just shuffle your feet or move your hips and do all your dancing with your hands? It takes talent to not spill your drink too. 

We also may or may not have been the leaders of "Come on Ride This Train"... let's not play. You know I spent the summer before 8th grade watching and learning the dance on MTV. You know you did it too. Just admit it. 

We ate breakfast with the cousins- Marie, Dave, Sarah, Scott, Ashlyn, Jay, Joseph, and Tracie. Even MeMac showed up! Then it was back to do some more yard work and trip to the 'Mart before the girls arrived back home. 

It was a jam packed weekend, but super fun! 

I got some new shoes on...

"Hey, I got some new shoes on and suddenly everything is bright..." 

Yesterday I went and got re-fitted for some shoes. The more I thought about my previous fitting, the more it disturbs me. The girl told me she didn't run and she was quite uninterested in helping me with my shoes. Lesson learned. 

I have been hearing some good things about The Trak Shak in Homewood, so we went over there. The guy was super helpful. And his running knowledge was immense. He actually told me he doesn't bother with races he can't win. Whoa. I just run to finish. 

I told him about my knee pain and he agreed it was most likely from my shoes and spouted off some reasoning. I just nodded. Whatever. Fix me, dude. 

He started raving about these Karhu running shoes. I thought they were way ugly. They apparently have two colors in stock. Neon Green and Glow in the dark Orange. I was leary to say the least. I tried my hardest to like the Mizuno better, but I had to think of my knee and not fashion and brought home these babies. 

I went for my first run in them. First comment from a lady in the locker room.. "Wow! Those sure are bright and orange! Are you an Auburn fan?" I replied with a no, I wasn't and thats why I didn't want to buy them, but they are crazy comfy. 

I ran 2 miles-- not a lot but I did some speed work and knee pain? Gone. It felt good to run. I would loved to have gone further, but apparently the gym didn't change their clocks with DST and I thought it was almost 11 and needed to get the girls some lunch.. ugh. Yeah, it was only 10. Boo. 

Anyway, I definitely looked like a skittle today with my green running shirt, purple,pink, and green shorts and my orange and yellow running shoes.

I'm not gonna lie, they did make me want to run a little faster! 

Debbie Downer Post

Hi. I am on the verge of a mental running breakdown. Every time I have run since Disney, my knee hurts and I am getting side stitches. Since I like to overanalyze everything, here is my breakdown. My knee is hurting because I need new shoes. Because my knee hurts, I change my running gait and hunch therefore inhibiting my breathing ability while running. Makes sense? Totally nonsense? You be the judge.

I told John that I don't think I should run until I am able to go get re-fitted and get some new shoes. Now, let's just find the $$ and time to head up to the Huntsville to Fleet Feet Sports. 

Not running and having bad runs kinda makes me a little crazy in the head. It makes me stress about it, and that runs over into my daily life. And doesn't help my attitude with my sassy princesses. And honestly? It makes me a little depressed. I REALLY want to run Nashville, I have yet to sign up due to the fact that I am scared I am really injured and I want to mentally be ready for this race and I don't feel like I am right now. And then I get mad about it. You see why I am a little bit of a crazy person, right now? 

Any advice, words of wisdom, slaps in the face are always welcome. 

In other news, I am headed to Hartselle today with Becca so she can get fitted for her bridesmaids dress for her brothers wedding-- did I mention that I am the wedding photographer? Holy cow. I am. I am so pumped. And then tonight, pizza dinner and play date with Lee and Alana and their kiddos. Super excited about what today holds. 

Guess it's time to get out of the jammies and put some real people clothes on. 

P.S. Did you watch the Bachelor? So glad he picked Emily. Loved her hair on the After the Final Rose- but that was the most awkward show ever. Brad has a temper? Must be bad-- why didn't she have the ring and he gave it back on the show? That's just strange. I would love to know what happened... Because I am just nosey. :) 

P.P.S. I am not a fan of the scales this week- I had gotten down to 131.5- I could taste the glory of 130- and guess who's hormonal and has a monthly visitor and back up to 135?? So, I refuse to input my weight on My Fitness Pal this week. 

Oh. Wow.

Wow. Just wow. I woke this morning to find my inbox being flooded with comments and e-mails from all the readers that have stopped by from Skinny Runner. You guys are so nice! You have really made my Friday! It makes me feel bad that the first post is a rant on my children.. Whoops. I promise those things rarely happen.
Anyway, I wanted to share some of the awesome advice I got on how to deal with the 'tude and toddlers... apparently, the best thing is to ignore it. Which is going to be crazy hard for me to do, but I shall try and let you know how it goes. I am also going to try and really compliment her when her behavior is awesome. She really is extremely sweet and likes to help- so I am going to encourage that.

GiGi came and picked the girls up yesterday and they spent the night with her and it was awesome. I really needed that- they will be coming home sometime today, so I am going to try to knock out some of things on my To Do List-- got some crafts I want to work on and some organizing too.

I also got out and ran this morning.. Two and a half miles- nice and easy- except I seem to have forgotten how to breathe and keep getting side stitches. I need to make sure I am drinking enough water.

To my new readers-- is anyone planning on running the Rock N Roll Country Music Marathon in Nashville at the end of April? I still haven't signed up, but I really want to!

This week has been a tad difficult for me. Addison is having complete emotional blowouts about the smallest things. Here are some examples: She's been wanting to watch a lot of Toy Story, so John picked up some Toy Story soup at the grocery store for her. When she saw it, she completely flipped out, exclaiming," I only like Princess soup!!!" So I dug around and found Dora soup and she seemed okay. The VERY next day, she begged if she could eat the Toy Story soup because "It was her very favorite!!". Tuesday, I was trying to get them ready to go to MeMac's for a little bit and she flipped out because she didn't want to change out of her pajamas or brush her hair or brush her teeth. 

One of my best friends is in the hospital with kidney stones and I told her we needed to say a prayer for her and she fell out again. She didn't like saying prayers, she didn't like Rebecca, she didn't like me, she didn't want to talk to Jesus. The stuff really hurt me. I was on the verge of tears. I just kept thinking... who is this child? Why is she talking to me like this? I haven't raised her to act like this. When John came home for lunch, he had a big talk with her and that seemed to help. 

Yesterday, after one of her many drama filled tantrums, she told me she wanted to go shopping. !!!! What? I informed her that I don't go shopping with mean girls. Only nice, friendly, and kind little girls get to go shopping. 

And now, Claire sees Addy acting like that and is starting to mimic the behavior. Shoot me. Just shoot me now. 

She is sending me on an emotional roller coaster of emotions. I don't know what to do. We've tried spankings, spankings with the wooden spoon, time outs, taking toys away, big talks. I need all mothers of girls to weigh in on this! Is there a stepford daughter program I can put her in? I want her to be able to express her emotions, but not throw fits. I am trying to get it through her head that when you act nice, you get the things you want, but if you act ugly, those things get taken away. How do you do it??? 

Back in the Saddle.. Again.

I'm glad everyone seemed to enjoy my race playlist and that I could give you some good ideas. 

I finally had my post race run. You see, these things scare me. I never know what to expect out of them. And the fact that I had been a little more than depressed last week bothered me. Does everyone else get the post race blues? John dragged me out of the house Friday night- I didn't really want to go, but after a g-chat with my girl, Jana, I took a shower, put on a cute outfit, and some make-up. Just to try to lift my spirits. We went to Huntsville and I had a gift card to Old Navy and DSW. I got some new Wedding/Easter shoes... and got a new ruffle tank from Old Navy. The shoes cost me less than $15 with the gift card. Thanks, Jay for the DSW gift card! I wanted something to get me out of my funk. Something to get me out of my running funk. But just signing up for one race wasn't going to cut it. Then, I found out about Half Fanatics. It really lifted my spirits. Got me right out of the funk. You can join by running either 2 1/2 marathons within 16 days of each other, or 3 within 90 days. I spent some time looking up races around here, but in the end decided they were all too close to the half I want to run, but have yet to sign up for, at the end of April. I'm afraid 3 weeks isn't enough recovery time. But it was enough to get me out of the funk. 

I thought I might get a run in Saturday, after my photo session, but it started raining and I didn't. And then Sunday, it didn't happen either. I had good intentions for Monday, but by the time Claire woke up from her nap, it would be 4 by the time I got to the gym, and it's too busy for me. 

So, Tuesday was the day. I told myself that I would 5 miles out of the deal, but I would stop before then if I felt that I needed to. I wanted to take it easy. Nice and easy. No sprints, just slow and steady. Side stitches started ailing me early on and by 2.5 miles, I felt like I could puke if I went much more. How weird is that? I ran 13.1 miles a week ago and wasn't doing less than 5 mile runs and all the sudden, I can't even run 3 miles? I guess that just goes to show how quickly running can turn on you. 

Anyway, it felt good on the treadmill. I missed the running. I wanted to go faster, but knew I didn't need to and that my body probably couldn't handle it. I proudly wore my Disney race shirt and even got a nod from the Spin Nazi who works out all the time and is in amazing shape. I guess I impressed her with my ability for a half. 

In other news.. Mr. and Mrs. Smith blogged about this amazing app and website My Fitness Pal and how she is counting calories. This thing is amazing!! It's free and so much easier than Weight Watchers. I am obsessed with it. I have already lost 2.5 lbs on it. I really want to meet my original goal of 130... and I am about 3 lbs from it. I also want to incorporate some weights and get some toning in with the running. I was looking at some different Jillian DVD's- but can't decide. $10 is a HUGE commitment. (sarcasm) I am really just indecisive about it. I have the Shred, but it's more cardio than I am looking for. 

I am still deciding on the run for today.. it's crazy stormy outside, so I am not sure I want to get out in it. Our yard has a river in it. I am not joking. 

As always, the first week is hard on the calorie counting. I haven't thought about cupcakes or chocolate or cream cheese icing in weeks and now? It's in thought bubbles all around my head. I can't stop thinking about it. But, you get more calories when you workout, so yay! Yesterday was the first day that I was actually under my calorie goal. 

Happy Wednesday, Folks!

The Disney Playlist

Apparently some of you out there actually dug my obsessiveness over Disney and wanted to hear my playlist. So, I'm gonna give it to you, just not in list form. 

If you follow me on Twitter, then you know how obsessive I was over this playlist. It HAD to be perfect. Because it was going to be my only friend for almost 3 hours--I totally had conversations with the singers and may or may not have yelled and sung lyrics under my breath. Apologies to you if you were running next to me at those points. 

The Black Eyed Peas had a feelin'-- they wanted me to live it up, and jump out that sofa and get it crunk. DMB would've dug a hole all the way to China, unless of course they were there, then they would dig their way home because I am their Dreamgirl. I wasn't settlin' for less than everything with Sugarland. Beyonce and myself were up in da club, just broke up, and doing our own little thang because we are Single Ladies. (Not really, but that's how the song goes.) Rihanna taught me that I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it. She's a little too into the S&M for me. AC/DC wanted me to get Thunderstruck. Bruno Mars told me to just say run, run, runaway, runaway baby-which I did. Lady GaGa was quite inspirational-- she told me there was nothing wrong with lovin' who I was, 'cause I am beautiful the way I am, 'cause God makes no mistakes- I was just Born This Way. Glee was quite inspirational is Disney-- they do love me, River Deep, Mountain High. Glee told me to run for my mother, run for my father, run for my sister, for my children and my brother because the Dog Days Are Over. They also told me that I needed some TLC cause I was a P.Y.T. They wanted me to Forget You cause the change in my pocket wasn't enough, but I just couldn't do it. My love was Ke$ha's drug. Tom Petty rescued me with You Wreck Me and informed me to Run Down My Dream that never would come to me. Pink wanted me to Raise my Glass 'cause we're gonna lose our minds tonight. Miranda Lambert was giving up on love, cause love's giving up on her. Eminem wanted to know if I had one shot to seize everything that I ever wanted in one moment, would I capture it? Yes, I will, just don't Lose Yourself, Marshall! I will be Bulletproof next time, just for you La Roux!! I should have Evacuated the Dancefloor, Cascada style, 'cause I was infected by the sound. I had that glitter on my eyes, stockings ripped up the side- Ke$ha style. Carrie wanted me to know about a good time Cowboy Casanova and wanted me to Undo It. I also needed to Pump It because BEP be reppin' it. Flo Rida was spinnin' my head right round- from the top of pole, he had me throwin' my money around. Taio Cruz came to dance, hit the floor cuz that his plans, and wearing all his favorite brands-- only because he is Dynamite. B.o.B. wanted me to pretend that the airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars, because they could really use a wish right now. Jay-Z and crew told me that victories are within the mile... Life's a game and it's not fair, but Rihanna breaks the rules, so she doesn't care- Who's Gonna Run This Town Tonight?? I pulled out a Forrest Gump favorite, whenever I was Running On Empty- Jackson Browne style. Stevie Wonder was wondering about the writing on the wall, because he's very Superstitious. Jason Mraz wanted me to throw away any work to be done and let the music play on because we are going to party All Night Long.  And let us not forget that Eminem is who got me across that finish line. cause sometimes you feel weak, and you gotta look in you and find that inner strength. You know, til the roof comes off, til the lights go out, til my legs give out, can't check my mouth, cause I'm gone rip this **** til my bones come out. 

Yes I realize that was weird. I pulled my favorite lines out of each song. Here is real playlist. 

1. I Gotta Feeling --BEP

2. Dreamgirl-- Dave Matthews

3. Settlin'--Sugarland

4. Single Ladies- Beyonce

5. S&M- Rihanna

6. Thunderstruck-- AC/DV

7. Runaway Baby-- Bruno Mars

8. Born This Way- Lady GaGa

9. River Deep, Mountain High-- Glee

10. Your Love is My Drug- Ke$ha

11. You Wreck Me-Tom Petty

12. Raise Your Glass- Pink

13. Kerosene- Miranda Lambert

14. Lose Yourself- Eminem

15. Bulletproof- La Roux

16. Evacuate the Dancefloor--Cascada

17. We R Who We R-Ke$ha

18. Undo It- Carrie Underwood

19. Pump It- BEP

20. Cowboy Casanova- Carrie Underwood

21. Right Round- Flo Ride

22. Dynamite- Taio Cruz

23. Airplanes- B.o.B.

24. Dog Days Are Over- Glee

25. 'Till I Collapse- Eminem

26. Run This Town- Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kayne

27. P.Y.T.- Glee

28. Running Down a Dream- Tom Petty

29. Running on Empty-Jackson Browne

30. Superstition- Stevie Wonder

31. Forget You- Glee

32. All Night Long- Jason Mraz

Disney 2011

Hey, remember that time I went to Disney and then I couldn't stop talking about it and bombarding the blog with thousands of pictures? Yeah.. me neither.

Hey, remember that time I went to Disney and forgot a Compact Flash card for my camera? Yeah. Me neither. Luckily, my mother in law brought an extra card. Let's keep in mind that I shoot RAW normally. Let's also keep in mind that the spare card was 512MB. Normally my cards are 4GB, and that evens out to about 200 RAW pictures. So.. I had to shoot in JPEG. Which I am not used to. And I also had to be careful with what I took pictures of. There was no room on the card for bad pictures. Which, in the end, I was thought, "Hey, I can only take around 100 pictures, which cuts down on editing time!" But then.. I forgot I came with my step-dad. Who is a paparazzi. And doesn't delete pictures. And who burned me a disc and turned my 89 pictures into over 1,000 pictures. Insert panic attack over editing here. 

Moving on...

So, we went to the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday afternoon after we got to Orlando. I had visions of a wonderful family picture in front of the park.. yeah. That didn't happen. Addison didn't want to take a picture with me.

The park wasn't that busy, but everything we wanted to do, we couldn't, it seemed like. Rapunzel? The line was 2 hours long. Princess Tiana? Wasn't out taking pictures. So, off the teacups, it was!

My step-dad, Bill and myself, ready for the teacups!

Addison looking into the wishing well outside the castle

We ate dinner at Tony's and then rode the train around the park. 

We watched a little bit of the Electrical Parade.. Super cool stuff!

We ended the night late with both girls passed out from exhaustion. But, the next morning, we were having breakfast at the castle!! 

You walk into the castle and Cinderella was there to greet us. Watching Claire was adorable. She was so excited! She just kept touching Cinderella's dress and when it was time for us to go upstairs to eat, she just kept staring at Cinderella.

We saw Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Jasmine at breakfast. The food was really good and it was definitely worth the price tag to see my little girls. Claire wanted to follow Sleeping Beauty around. 

Once we got outside, The Fairy Godmother was outside the castle! Claire was so excited to see her too! But when The Fairy Godmother took her autograph book, C sat down and screamed, "NO!" Only my daughter would tell her Fairy Godmother "No."

I promise Addison was more excited than this picture shows

We tried to go see Rapunzel again, but her line was an hour and a half at 9:30, so we sent John to stand in line for Princess Tiana. Score! We were third person in line when they got there. 

The princesses loved them! Claire gave Prince Navine a kiss on the cheek and just kept hugging them. 

They were probably one of my favorites. Navine sounded JUST like in the movie and they stayed in character and kind of bantered back and forth!

We left the Magic Kingdom and went to Epcot for the day. We rode the Nemo ride, did Turtle Talk with Crush and tried to go find Alice and Mary Poppins for the girls... they weren't around when they were supposed to be, and hadn't been out all day. Don't know what was up with that. 

While we waited for Turtle Talk, Addison wanted to sing a duet.. "Fire"-- the Glee version 

They had these amazing topiaries out of the characters all around the park. 

I visited the UK.. and got in a phone booth- I've always wanted to do that! Yes, I am super cheesy. 

We ate lunch in Japan and then headed over to the Mickey and Friends line.. Claire hated waiting in line, but once she saw Mickey, she was sold. She would run to the characters and even cut in line. It was funny to watch the difference in how Addison was petrified of them and Claire runs over people to get to them. 

Giving Donald a kiss


John, Mom, Bill and I rode Soarin'... Wow. Everyone must ride that ride! So awesome! 

We called it an early day at the park and headed over the Downtown Disney to shop and eat at the Rainforest Cafe. The girls hated the animals and the rain storms that happen about every 30 minutes.

Friday, MeMac and Poppy and the girls went to the pool while the rest of us went to Universal Studios. 

We talked Mom into riding The Hulk rollercoaster.. she loved it!!! 

Of course we were there for one thing.. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 

Oh, I was in nerdy nerdy Heaven.  

The Hogwarts Express

They did a fantastic job with everything. I honestly wanted my Hogwarts robes and my wand and wanted to go to Potions class or something. 

Honeydukes!!! They really had Chocolate Frogs and Bertie's Box of Beans! 

"I wanna go to Hogwarts" 

We waited in an extremely long line for the "Forbidden Journey" but MAN OH MAN, was it worth it!! That ride is fabulous! It's inside the castle and the line wraps through the greenhouse, the dungeons, past the Fat Lady-- and the pictures really talk and move! And finally, we got to go through Dumbledore's office. Seriously awesome. 

After the ride, we headed down the another long line for a butterbeer! Y'all.. seriously delicious!! Definitely worth the $11 it cost per butterbeer. Yes, you read that right. $11. 

We did the Hippogriff ride and it was fun! Then we headed out of the park through the Dr Seuss area. 

We ate lunch at Bubba Gump and it was SO GOOD!! Seriously. 

Hi. I'm weird and don't know how to pose for pictures. 

Saturday we headed to Hollywood Studios. I, of course, donned a crown. My Princess race was the next day.. I had to get in character! 

Claire was excited and ready to go! 

We talked Mom into riding the Aerosmith Rockin Rollercoaster.. I wish I could ride it right now. :( 

I love Fantasia! 

No one rode the Tower of Terror.. they had scaffolding all around it.. No thanks. 

We rode the Backlot Tour and Addison didn't care for it. 

We ate lunch at the 50's Prime Time Diner and it was delicious but I had to cut my time short so I could go meet the Princess Media Group. 

I really love Disney. I wish I could live there. I promise not to talk about it anymore. Unless, perhaps, you might want to see my playlist for the race?